


O Captain, Our Captain

by betsytheoven



Series: The Aces in the Tribune [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 01:59:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7386268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betsytheoven/pseuds/betsytheoven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Logan Thall/ Contributor</p><p>When Kent Parson came to the Aces, we all knew he was meant to be our captain. Now I want the hockey world to understand why he was meant to be our captain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	O Captain, Our Captain

**Author's Note:**

> Players' Tribune articles are some of my favorite things about hockey. This was definitely born out realizing Kent is appreciated and loved by those around him, he just doesn't see it. Or maybe he doesn't let himself see it. 
> 
> This article was written by Kent's linemate (and best friend) Logan Thall on the day after Kent's birthday.
> 
> (Many many many thanks to the lovely people who helped shape this and re-write it, even if it is just a mini fic. Huge thanks to Sarah, Alyssa, Idril, and April!)

 

** O Captain, Our Captain **

July 5, 2016

 

**Logan Thall**

Contributor

 

 ** T** here are a lot of great captains in the NHL.

There are some household names like Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Claude Giroux, and Jonathan Toews. And recently there have been some new faces on the ice like Jamie Benn, John Tavares, and Joe Pavelski. I think most players would agree--there is no shortage of great captains in the NHL. But I wanted to take a moment to talk about arguably the greatest captain in the league, Kent Parson.

 

When Kent Parson came to the Las Vegas Aces in 2009, none of us knew what to expect. He had dominated the Q, but he was a new kid on a (relatively) new team. He was on the small side and didn’t smile during the first whole practice. It wasn’t until later that he told me that he just really, really didn’t want to trip himself on the ice. And that’s it, the heart of who Kent Parson is: He looks every bit the captain, but at the core, he is just trying his best to play the game and do right by his team.

 

Since he arrived in Las Vegas, he has done nothing but eat, sleep, and dream hockey. In a town like Las Vegas, it’s a constant struggle to draw in a solid fanbase and hold the respect of the locals. In 2009, the fans came for the first overall draft pick, and stayed for Kent Parson--and the fans weren’t the only ones.

 

By the end of the first practice, we all knew Kent was the best thing that could have happened to our team. Leonard Rexan, then Captain of the Aces, took one look at the rookie and told me, “He’s what was missing.”

 

Rexan was right. Kent was not just the winger that my line needed, he was the laser-focus we needed at practice, and the backup dancer to my locker room karaoke (everyone needs their fall-back plan). By the end of his first season, Kent was the heart of the team. By the start of his second season, Kent was the captain of the team.

 

There was never any doubt in my mind that Kent was going to be captain.

 

It wasn’t that he went First Overall--we had two of those already, and the draft only means so much in the grand scheme of the game. It wasn’t that he won the Calder and almost single-handedly took us into the playoffs. It was that Kent played with a fire that I always fell just short of. Every shift meant the world to him, and every goal seemed to give him new life. He is a seriously talented hockey player, and an even better person.

 

People will tell you what a captain should be. Everyone has their long list, especially when the C is up for grabs at the beginning of a season. So at the end of the ‘09-10 season when Rexan confirmed his retirement from the NHL, all eyes turned to Kent to see how he measured up to their lists.

 

The media had a lot to say about Kent. He’s too young. He’s too small. He’s too irresponsible. He’s too hot-headed. But I want to tell you that none of those things are true.

 

He’s young, but he tries his best and is constantly trying to become a better leader. He’s smaller than average, but he knows how to use that to his advantage. He’s only irresponsible if you’re thinking about how many cat toys he buys for his cat. He’s only hot-headed when you insult a teammate because we are family. He’s not right for the C, only if you don’t know him.

 

The C was announced at the first regular season game. In the end, the decision was unanimous.

 

For everyone on the team, our idea of what a captain should be was simple: Kent Parson.

 

It may sound naive, but the thing about Kent that makes him our captain is that he cares. Sometimes we worry that he cares too much but at the end of the day, everything Kent does, he does because he cares.

 

Of course, there are a lot of other great things about him: he has a captain’s calm on the ice, the passion to light the lamp when we’re trailing in the third period, and the kindness to keep us going after the worst losses. He won the Calder in his first season and practically dragged the team into the playoffs in his first season. He had already broken four records for the Aces before the playoffs started. But in the end, the reason Kent is a great captain is because he’s better off the ice than he is on it.

 

I can honestly tell you that every guy on this team plays for the love of the game, but they also all play for the love of our captain. When someone messes with Cap, I see red, Gallers sees red, every guy on the team I’ve talked to sees red. If you look up tape from the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, you’ll see our goalie Jenns [Ferr Jennall] take down a Devils defenseman for giving Kent a concussion earlier in the period. Everyone would drop gloves for him. Our team is a family and you don’t mess with the heart of the family, on or off the ice.

 

When any of us guys have a hard day, Kent is always there for us. During the off-season, I ended up needing a surgery so I could skate this season. I had barely sent a message to the group chat as a heads up, before Kent was calling.

 

“When is the surgery? Kit and I will fly in and help you out afterwards.”

 

After multiple failed attempts to dissuade him from flying himself and his cat hundreds of miles just to hang around while I sleep a lot, I eventually gave in. I cannot recommend a better way to recover after a surgery.  

 

Kent’s a lot of things, but a nurse he is not. He tried so hard to be helpful, but he burned the rice he made for dinner. He woke up every night to check I wasn’t running a fever, but most nights he just tripped over something and ended up waking me up. But that’s our captain; Kent gives his all in everything, even if he looks ridiculous or messes up. You don’t get to play hockey as well as Kent does without being afraid to look like an idiot sometimes.

 

I can’t tell you the amount of times I hear, “What the?! Lotsy! Did you see that?”

 

This always follows a truly ridiculous shot that usually makes Kent look like a newborn giraffe, but somehow the stupidest shots always make it into the goal. He brings a light to the team that makes even bag skates fun.

 

Kent also tries to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders.

 

Going into game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals this year, we were all exhausted. The game was back in Providence and we all wanted to win the Cup again for Jordan Stamp, our goalie who had to retire mid-season because of heart complications. But when the buzzer sounded at the end of the game and blue confetti started pouring from the ceiling,  I immediately sought out Kent. He held his head high and was hanging back to wait until it was time to start the handshake line, like a good captain. Like he hadn’t wanted to win this cup for Stampy more than he had wanted that first cup in 2012. We all held it together on the ice because Kent did.

 

But what I really remember of Kent that day was the quiet way he addressed the team in the locker room.

 

“Thank you all for a truly great game and an even greater season. I’m sorry.”

 

He apologized for not winning us the Cup, when I can guarantee that every guy in that locker room wishes they could have pulled their own weight a bit better, a bit more like Kent had.  He had scored our one point of the night, but he still blamed himself for the loss. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy that night, but he left it out on the bench and I’ve never heard him talk about it since.

 

Kent’s proud of the Aces, but not himself.

 

That’s why I need to write this. I need others to understand why I, and the rest of the Las Vegas Aces organization, know he is truly a legendary captain.

 

He is a uniting force, bringing people together on the team and across teams.

 

Every year, his birthday party is an event attended by players from all across the league. Players fly from all over the world to attend Kent’s birthday party. His birthday just happens to fall on the American holiday, the Fourth of July, which is only fitting that our most explosive scorer was born on a day known for fireworks.

 

The summer after his first season, he let it slip to me that his mother was going over the top for his birthday party in a week. I shot off texts to all of the guys that could be considered reasonably local, and a few of us flew into New York on Fourth of July morning. The poor kid opened the door expecting his pizza delivery, but instead found four of us holding hockey stick-shaped presents (it was very short-notice).

 

After that summer, it became team tradition for everyone to fly stateside to attend the captain’s birthday party. But every year the party grows because Kent forges friendships on the ice that last well beyond the games. He’s magnetic and I think players from other teams recognize the fire in his veins but the kindness in his heart, which leads to the Captain’s Birthday Bash being the highlight of the off-season for so many players in the league.

 

He inspires so many players both young and old to play their best and to be their best, especially off the ice. In a sport where character standards off the ice are often set very low, Kent Parson sets an impressive standard. He will be the first to tell you that he is not perfect, and all the best people have their flaws.

 

But Kent is already an outstanding role model in the hockey world and he never stops growing and trying to better himself. Kent is always first on the ice, and last off it. He is the first to welcome new teammates to Las Vegas, and the first pull teammates into a tight embrace after a trade is announced. He houses rookies and relatives of teammates and pets, with a thinly-veiled excitement and he is one of the most genuine players in the league.  Everything he does, comes from a place of caring.

 

We often joke in the locker room about accidentally inflating Kent’s ego. In reality, it’s no accident. Kent is constantly taking himself down, even while he builds everyone else up. He puts others before himself, though not always before his cat. He tries so hard and cares so much and everything you see out on the ice is a result of hard work, not just “natural talent.” He is truly in love with hockey, but he is his own worst critic.

 

If you get nothing else out of this, please know this: Kent Parson is the reason we are where we are today, as a team and as individuals.

 

Winning the Stanley Cup in 2012? That was all Kent Parson. He probably would have dragged us into the final if he had to, but he tried his best to inspire us instead to play our best game. We did.

 

The Aces becoming a “respectable” NHL team? That was Kent.

 

Selling out season tickets in a city known for tourism and failed hockey teams? That was Kent.

 

The Aces becoming a family that cannot be torn apart by trades or injuries? Kent. Parson.

 

Kent won’t believe any of this. Just wait, I bet he will think this is all some elaborate joke because he’s just not in it for the recognition. He’s in it to play the sport he loves and to make people smile.

 

He loves the game. I can’t tell you how much he adores the game. Watching him step out onto the ice after an injury is always so fun, because you can see the pure joy on his face. The ice is his home. But he also loves people. If the ice is his home, people are his heart. Sometimes it seems like his favorite part of games is meeting fans afterwards. After his first fan-meet with the Aces, Kent turned to me with a goofy smile and asked when he got to do this again.

 

Even after tough losses, Kent goes out of his way to meet fans. He engages with people on twitter, under the guise of bragging about his cat (granted, he probably really _does_ want to talk about his cat, too). He greets fans after every practice, game, and PR appearance. He shows up on morning talk shows and follows local hockey teams. After finding his cat at a local shelter, he paid for a few commercials and events for the shelter. He loves his privacy but he loves people’s smiles more.

 

Despite all of the negatives in Kent’s life, most of which were much too highly publicized for a kid so I will leave you to Google them if you must, he has found a way to constantly strive to be his best self. Every day, he tries to be kinder, more patient, a better leader. If you admire nothing else about Kent, admire this. He is a strong man with the brain of a captain and the heart of a true leader.

 

I want everyone to understand that things happen in life, but you are what you make of those things. Kent has made greatness and kindness. I only hope I can one day be worthy of calling him My Captain.

  
Logan Thall

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come find me over on [tumblr](http://betsytheoven.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/betsytheoven)!


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